Friday, April 10, 2015

April 12, 2015 - Easter 2

Duetto III - J.S Bach
b minor Mass: "Christe Eleison" - J.S. Bach
Messe Solennells: "Sanctus" - Charles Gounod
Grand Triumphal Chorus in A - Alexandre Guilmant 

Hymns: #210 Ellacombe, #193 Puer Nobis, 
              #209 St. Botolph

This week the music is two Bach duets and two French Romantic pieces. Both of the Bach duets are incredibly melismatic with imitation and interesting harmonic progressions. Gounod and Guilmant were both Catholic French Romantic organists skilled at improvisation. Both of these pieces are on the simpler side and geared more towards the smaller parish and the musicians that can’t improvise or didn’t write their own music for their programs.

The gradual anthem and prelude are two duets by J.S. Bach. The prelude is one of four duets from the Clavierubung III, Bach’s “Organ Mass.”  The prelude consists primarily of broken chords which makes it reminiscent of the trio sonatas and the third Brandenburg Concerto.  The gradual anthem is the “Christe Eleison” from the b Minor Mass for two sopranos. The piece is so interesting in the way that it works through harmonic progressions that are completely removed from the key that they appear to be in. This duet is very tender and beautiful piece that shows the intimate nature of the “God the son” personage of the Trinity.

The postlude is Guilmant’s “Grand Triumphal Chorus in A” from the “Practical Organist” a collection designed to teach organist not particularly inclined toward improvisation. These pieces and (overall) fairly simple pieces are in various different styles that illustrate the various portions of the Catholic Mass. The march acts as a pseudo trumpet tune that functions as a Rondo form march with the theme played on solo trumpet.

The communion anthem and postlude were written by the French composer Charles Gounod. Gounod is perhaps best known for his setting of the Ave Maria which uses the Bach C Major prelude from the Well Tempered Clavier as accompaniment. This music was introduced to him by Felix’s sister Fanny. Gounod’s music is often seen as less serious in nature than that of his contemporaries but some of that could be due to the popularity of it. Most of us recognize his Funeral March of the Marionette as the theme song of the Alfred Hitchcock Show. The anthem is taken from the Messe Solennelle for SATTBB choir and STB soli. The Sanctus alternates between a solo tenor aria and the full choir. The B section stacks dissonant parts and obscures the key before leading to a restatement of the theme, this time by the full choir. 

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